


Come Fly With Me

by velcrown



Category: Sekai-ichi Hatsukoi
Genre: Anxiety, Aviophobia, Drabble, Fear of Flying, Kind of angsty, M/M, One Shot, Panic, a bit out of ooc, but idc, but not really, did someone say airplanes?, im not v good with tags, kisa's in the beginning, let me know if i should add any more tags, these boys, this was a prompt asked on tumblr
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-30
Updated: 2017-12-30
Packaged: 2019-02-24 04:03:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,806
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13205538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/velcrown/pseuds/velcrown
Summary: Ritsu gets stuck next to Takano on a flight to a conference only to find out that Takano has never flown before.And Takano is terrified.Ritsu's in for it now.





	Come Fly With Me

**Author's Note:**

> This was an ask on my tumblr:  
> Random Drabble prompt thing: Emerald get sent on a business trip by air and turns out Takano has never been on an aeroplane before and figures out he is deathly afraid of flying. Ritsu, who was forced to sit beside him, tries to calm him down. Here ensues the flllluuufff!!! Lmao (you don’t have to use this I’m just running out of nostalgia fics tbh)  
> ~~~~  
> I'm always open to prompts or suggestions! Don't be afraid to pop in and say hi!

“Ricchan! Ricchan!”

“Kisa, what?” Ritsu maneuvered his way deeper into the plane’s tiny aisles. Kisa bounded in front of him, joyfully tiptoeing around other passengers’ ill-placed baggage and sprawling limbs. The two editors were near last to board the plane to Sendai for a manga production conference thanks to someone’s need to buy one more latte before take off. Kisa now sipped from his coffee cup with enthusiasm, a speck of foam caught on his upper lip, not concerned at all that they had almost been separated from their other Emerald coworkers. Ritsu was just relieved that they had even made it to their terminal in time.

“I was wondering which seat you got, because I know we’re all spread out, but I also know Hitori- ah, excuse me, thank you- got assigned his seat next to Mino, so maybe we’ll get to sit together!”

Ritsu has been so preoccupied with not being stranded in the airport that he didn’t even think to check for his seating assignment. He felt around in his laptop shoulder bag for his boarding pass and scanned the paper for those little figures.

“Ricchan, I’m in row 35, the aisle seat! How lucky; I’ve had so much to drink this morning, and you can’t even understand how badly I’ve got to go.”

Ritsu didn’t have any desire to want to understand that, but anyways…

“It says I’m in row 40; sorry, Kisa.” Ritsu had gotten the aisle seat as well, so that was a plus.  
Kisa looked back at Ritsu with disappointment, still making his way down the aisle to their seats. “That’s just too bad. But who knows, we may share a row on the way back home.” Kisa sent a hopeful grin to his coworker and friend, then turned back to focus on the path his feet were taking.

“Yes, maybe.” Ritsu jostled his laptop bag up farther onto his shoulder. His hands held his boarding pass as he searched the adjacent seats for which row number they were at now. A woman sat in her chair, already buckled in for takeoff with a chubby toddler crawling into her lap, tiny hands grabbing for her hair. Ritsu looked above her at the overhead compartments. It read 33. Just a bit father then.

Kisa finally hit his row and sat down happily next to his temporary neighbor for the next hour or so. The other occupant of row 35, an older man with a large, puffy winter jacket (it was summer for heaven’s sake) bristled at his sudden jovial presence and turned away to scowl out of the plane’s tiny window. Kisa’s eyes widened, and he gingerly waved goodbye to Ritsu, who smiled in encouragement. Just an hour Kisa! Hold on for an hour! An hour wasn’t so bad.

As Ritsu meandered deeper into the plane he searched the rows for his number.

38, 39, 40!

No. No, he could not sit here for an hour. The next sixty minutes would kill him.

“Takano, you’re in my seat.”

Takano’s eyes fluttered open in surprise at the sound of Ritsu’s annoyed voice. The man was leisurely reclined back in Ritsu’s seat, disregarding the fact that all of the chairs would have to be in the upright position before take off. His long legs were spread wide, suit jacket laid across his lap with precise care.

“I don’t think I am.”

Ritsu barely suppressed a shout of anger. He was holding him up! Holding the whole plane up! The brunette showed his boarding pass, still clutched securely in his grasp, to his boss. “I have the aisle seat.”

Takano read over the pass and stood up, scooting over to the other sear. “Your throne awaits, your majesty.”

Ritsu rolled his eyes, sitting down with a huff. He shoved his bag under the chair in front of him and buckled his seatbelt in, glancing over at Takano. There was something off about the way he was sitting. He was tensed up, eyes darting from one thing to another in the cabin. He made eye contact with Ritsu and raised a brow.

“I’m glad you could finally make it. We almost left without you.”

Ritsu straightened his back and shook his head. “Kisa demanded that I go with him to get another coffee from one of the shops. The line was long, and I should have just left, but I didn’t, then we almost missed our boarding time-“

“Hey, it’s fine. You’re here now.”

Ritsu leaned back into his chair. That was true. “Ah, yes. I am.”

“You are.”

Silence fell over the pair.

After many beats of awkwardness, Takano spoke up again. “I didn’t expect this to be so big.”

Ritsu turned to him. “The plane? I think it’s average size for a non-international flight.”

Takano shrugged. “I wouldn’t know. This is my first one.”

“This is your first time on an airplane?”

“I guess so.”

Ritsu couldn’t even comprehend that. His whole life was filled with family trips and school visits and vacations, all of them involving planes.

Ritsu nodded and pulled out an in-air magazine to occupy himself with. He was scanning over the snack selections when Takano spoke up again. “How many of these things crash on average?”

Ritsu closed his magazine and focused on Takano. His fingers were tapping onto the armrest at a rapid pace. His leg bounced up and down and up and down. His eyebrows were pinched together.

Takano was scared of flying.

Ritsu searched his face. His boss, his ex-lover (arguably, current lover) was scared of flying on an airplane.

Ritsu’s voice was soft when he spoke. “It’s extremely rare for one to even have a problem, much less malfunction completely in the air.” Takano searched his eyes for verification. “I promise we won’t crash.”

Takano nodded gently.

The pilot spoke over the intercom about safety and information about the flight and arrival time. A flight attendant stood in the aisle and demonstrated how to attach and detach safety belts, activate life jackets, and exit the aircraft in the occurrence of an emergency. Takano watched with rapt attention. Ritsu couldn’t help the growing feeling of concern for him. He just seemed so vulnerable.

When the plane finally was positioned for takeoff, Takano started up a staccato breathing pattern, his breath jumping at every movement the plane made.

Ritsu’s hands seemed to move on their own as they reached over to pet along Takano’s tense arms. “Hey, it’s okay. It’s just setting up on the runway.” Takano shuddered out another breath and turned to the window. Unshed tears swam in the bottoms of his eyelids. Ritsu’s heart dropped.

Takano’s voice shook when he spoke next. “This is so stupid.” He looked over at Ritsu. “I’m sorry.”

The brunette shook his head to the side and continued consoling Takano with measured strokes. “Don’t be sorry. This is totally normal. Plenty people get nervous on airplanes.” Takano didn’t respond. The plane filled with sounds of whooshing air and whirring machinery. Takano’s hands fisted the armrests, his knuckles white and shivering. Ritsu’s attention went to his hands, tracing lines onto the backs of his fingers. “It’s alright, Takano. Just the engines.”

The plane jerked into motion and propelled itself down the runway. Takano’s unsteady gaze shot to the window to watch the scenery rush by them. “Fuck, we’re going fast.”

“Think of it as a car, just a really fast car in the air, yeah? Um.” Takano’s eyes finally let a tear slip down his cheek, leaving a damp trail behind. Ritsu hated to see him like this. Maybe if he got his mind on something else? “Do you remember the field trip our school took to that chemical plant?” Takano’s distress seemed to slightly drop as he focused on Ritsu’s words. “I hated that trip. I read throughout the whole bus tour, not a care in the world. But you kept pestering me to look out the windows at the nitrogen facility. Of course, I would look ever now and then just to sate you, but. That novel was so good.” Takano’s full attention was on him now. “I’d like to find that book again and reread it.”

“It’s called Wind With No Luck. You, uh. Fell asleep on the ride back, and I read some of it.” One of Takano’s hands unattached itself from its strong grip to wipe at his face. “I thought its language was too frivolous for the subject matter.”

Ritsu smiled at the man. It was working. “Understandable, but I quite enjoyed it. Lovely character setups and an effective use of foreshadowing.”

Takano agreed with a hum. The plane suddenly rose up, taking flight. Takano’s hands reached for Ritsu’s, and of course, Ritsu allowed Takano to take his fingers and intertwine them with his own. How could he not? His grip was bruising, but Ritsu didn’t care. What was more important was Takano right now.

“Try breathing with me,” Ritsu prompted. He took a deep breath in, and let it out slowly, then once again. Takano nodded and followed. Deep breath in, slow exhale. Ritsu smiled at the man. “Good. Really good.”

The pair sat there breathing together as the plane ascended into the sky. Ritsu’s fingers resumed their tracing onto the backs of Takano’s hands. Streams of light flowed in from the window as their plane pierced the clouds and reached the airspace above the horizon.

When the plane seemed to neutralize into a more linear path of travel, the intercom crackled to life above them, the pilot updating the passengers on the flight’s info and informing them that the seatbelt signs would be turned off. Takano seemed to let every ounce of air out of his lungs in a long exhale. Ritsu shifted in his seat. He noticed the person in the seat in front of him stand to roam the plane. The man glared at their intertwined hands and clicked his tongue in disgust. Ritsu stared right back. Who was he to reprimand them? Especially while Takano needed him right now.

Takano’s loosening grip pulled Ritsu‘s attention away from the scowling man and back to Takano. His eyes were dry, eyes affectionate, his lips curled into a loving smile. “Thank you, Onodera.”

Ritsu continued to draw never-ending lines into Takano’s hands. “It’s no problem at all.” Ritsu unconsciously leaned into Takano. Ritsu was so glad he was feeling better.

Takano’s breath was back to normal, and his whole posture was much less tense. The two sat there in peace, neither one detaching their hands from the others'.

Ritsu looked past Takano to peek at the window. The clouds swirled like paint, colored gold with the sun’s beams of light. His attention was drawn to Takano, eyes shut gracefully, and smile adorned.

Maybe this flight wouldn’t be so bad after all.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!! Leave a comment or kudos if you enjoyed it. Also, if you have any prompts or suggestions, don't hesitate to send me an ask on tumblr (@velcr0wn) or leave a comment here!  
> And Happy New Year! <3


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